Valpo Voyager

Student Stories from Around the World

Tag: prague

First Steps Inside

Make Memories, Go Abroad!

March 26, 2015 / / 1 Comment

Hello all! I hope everyone is having a great begining to their year and to my college friends, I hope you all are having a great semester! This post will be on the adventures of Vienna, Austria and Prague, Czech Republic, with a break at the local SSV Reutlingen soccer team! First off, if you want an extremely beautiful city with a diverse group of friendly citizens, then Vienna should be on your list of places to visit. Vienna was beautiful, and not just the outside of the buildings, but also  the inside. Myself along with Morgan, Raechel, and Shelby from our group made the voyage and we were able to visit the Kunsthistoriches Museum along with a trip to Schonbrunn Palace and St. Stephans Cathedral. Our first thoughts upon arrival was how good the water tasted. This may sound a little strange at first because how can water have a taste other that how water tastes, but let me tell you, whatever it is, you can taste it. The water comes straight from the Alps right to your tap faucet. Moral of the story is, feel free to just take a glass and drink the water straight from the tap and it will be some of the best water there is to taste. We did not just sit in our hostel bathroom drinking the water while we were there however, we did make a trip to the Kunsthistoriches Museum. This is basically an art museum featuring collections of art from the Habsburg’s own collection.

Kunsthistoriches Museum

Kunsthistoriches Museum

First Steps Inside

First Steps Inside

The Building Itself Should Be in a Glass Case

The Building Itself Should Be in a Glass Case

The decorative style of the inside of the building alone was incredible. The inside looked so intoxicating to the eye that I almost forgot there are art expibitions here. The art was fantastic and I would highly recomend giving it a visit. We also had the opportunity to visit Schonbrunn palace which was once the official palace of the Habsburg family. We did not go into the main palace building because of time, but we were able to walk around and outside the palace. We wondered through the palace garden located in the back of the palace and it was breathtaking.

The Main Entrance

The Main Entrance

I wouldn't mind having this in my back yard

I wouldn’t mind having this in my back yard

Roman Sculpture's in the Garden

Roman Sculpture’s in the Garden

After a morning stroll through the garden we decided to give St. Stephan’s cathedral a go. Unfortunately by the time we got there, there was a service being held so we could not make our way up to the altar.

Inside of the Cathedral with a purple backlight

Inside of the Cathedral with a purple backlight

"We can't see the cathedral" (Turns left) "Oh there it is"

“We can’t find the cathedral” (Turns left) “Oh there it is”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This marked the end of our journey around Vienna so we started our way back when…we discovered how beautiful the city is at night.

Hofburg Palace

Hofburg Palace

National Library

National Library

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, Vienna was hard to beat when it comes to beautiful scenery and decadent desserts.

After we came back to Reutlingen we decided to stay back and rest because on Saturday March 7 we attended a SSV Reutlingen Soccer game! The game was a lot of fun (although there were probably a grand total of 250 people at the game) but the atmosphere was still fun (plus this was payed by the program so that is a huge plus) and the SSV were victorious over Revensburg!

Our next excursion took us along the Vltava river to the wonderful city of Prague! Going to a country that doesn’t speak German as its primary language was a little nerve racking at first, but everything worked out and we learned a little Czech! A little overview of our trip was taking a trip to the famous and biggest attraction in Prague, the Charles bridge! And also a trip to the Prague castle where we were able to see the changing of the gaurd!

Castle Enterance

Castle Enterance

Howdy Sailor

Howdy Sailor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St Vitus Cathedral Inside the Castle

St Vitus Cathedral Inside the Castle

The view of the city from the castle was incredible as well! Also the view from the Vltava river wasn’t to bad.

Lets go swimming!

Lets go swimming!

If only it were a sunny day

If only it were a sunny day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also took a stop in old town and saw the astronomical clock!

So its 3pm right?

So its 3pm right?

Tyn Church in old town square!

Tyn Church in old town square!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After having unbelievable amounts of fun, we called it a trip and made our way back to Reutlingen. Prague was a great city with excellent traditional bohemian cuisine. Czech was a little scary at first, but we got by no problem with German and English. We did not experience any feelings of being unsafe throughout Prague, but tourist season can be a little different so just make sure to be safe with your money and belongings and you will be fine. I would love to go back to Prague but alas, there is still more to be seen! Speaking of that, this Friday marks the start of our spring break! My roomate and I will be attempting to travel for 17 days straight with just a backpack full of clothes! But hey, this is how memories are made! I hope all of you have a great rest of your day and I want to thank you all again for giving this a read! Until April, this is Austin P signing off!

The Best Things I Ate: The European Tour

May 9, 2014 / / 0 Comments
 It’s time for the last installment of “The best things I ate.”  Check out parts 1 and 2 if you haven’t yet. This time, instead of dishes from Germany, I’ve collected all of my favorite meals from various countries I visited over spring break. Since this post required extensive research, it will be rather long, but I have to share these things because they are such an important part of why I love travel, and they are what inspire me to create new recipes of my own. Whether I’m at home or halfway around the world, I try to branch out and try new things, as well as authentic classics, and here, you’ll see a good mix of both, organized by city.

Prague:

This was the first dinner I had in the first city of break, and it was a great way to kick it all off! It was roast pork with horseradish mashed potatoes and a gorgeous gravy. It was classic Czech food with a little added elegance. Another reason to love Prague is that even fancy restaurants are ridiculously cheap because of the exchange rate!

This little treat is something I grew up eating at home. Kolacky are little Bohemian cookies filled with jelly or cream cheese that come in all shapes and sizes. I saw these at a bakery stand at a local festival and just had to have a real one!

Budapest:

For even cheaper fancy food, this is the place for you! This was my birthday dinner, chicken with beetroot risotto. I’m not really a fan of beets, but I am a huge fan of risotto, so I decided to take a risk and order it. And not only does it look beautiful, it tasted perfect too!

Vienna:

A long time ago, I did an entire post about my favorite foods in Vienna, but one thing I regretted missing out on the first time was some real Wiener Schnitzel. So this time, I found a restaurant that was really popular with the locals and finally had some. Some of my friends got the giant version that was bigger than the plate, but I opted for this one to get the sides. That way, it didn’t look entirely like a heart attack on a plate. At least there was some lettuce.
Venice:
 

Unlike Prague and Budapest, food in Venice can get pretty expensive. But one thing that’s always a deal is pizza. Honestly, my favorite pizza in the world is still Chicago style deep-dish, but for authenticity’s sake, this one was pretty good too. But it was a struggle to eat with a knife and fork.

Rome:

It was here that I first learned how to eat like an Italian. Apparently, the giant bowl of pasta is only the first course, and you’re supposed to have room for a meat course after that. I usually just picked one or the other, but this pesto was my favorite pasta course, mostly because I believe you can never have too much basil.

Cinque Terre: 

As a general rule, whenever I’m lucky enough to go to a restaurant where I can see the ocean from my table, I order fish. And that’s almost the only time I order fish. This was the first time that I ever got one with the head still attached, but after respectfully laying a piece of lettuce over the face, I thoroughly enjoyed this meal.
So far, I haven’t mentioned any restaurants by name, but I feel compelled to for this next one. Based on rave reviews from Rick Steves and Tripadvisor, I had to try Il Pirata in the tiny town of Vernazza. I’m sure all their food is great, but I specifically wanted to go for breakfast.

First, there’s this little cup of wonderful. The owner gave us a little free sample, describing the mix of fresh strawberry slush and whipped cream as “the Italian yoghurt.” That little taste was not enough. And just the fact that this is considered just like yoghurt here is just another reason why I love this country.

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Finally, yes, I did order a cannoli for breakfast. I had to do it, and it was the best one I’ve ever had. And now I know better than to order a pre-filled one. These are filled only after you order them so that they stay delightfully fresh and crunchy.

So that’s how I ate my way across Europe. Next week, I’ll write my last post as I prepare to go home for the summer. I’m sure it’ll be bittersweet and super cliché, but hopefully it’s a good final chapter.

Spring Break Part 1: Exploring Eastern Europe

May 4, 2014 / / 0 Comments

It’s been a while since my last travel post. Where have I been all April? Well, it feels to me, like almost everywhere. I just returned from two and a half weeks traveling around Europe. It was an Odyssey. It was like the Amazing Race, only without the actual race and the million dollars at the end. I feel like I just walked across half of this continent. But it was unforgettable, a true once-in-a-lifetime experience that I’ll cherish forever. Since there’s no way to cover the entire trip in one post, I’m going to split it into three. First, there were the eastern cities of Prague, Budapest, and Vienna. Then, there was Italy. Finally, I’m going to have one more installment of “The Best Things I Ate,” a spring break edition.

Prague:
     We kicked off our break in Prague, a place I’ve wanted to visit for years. It was one of the cities on our itinerary that I was most excited for, and in the end, it still was one of my favorites. Everyone says it’s ridiculously beautiful, and everyone is right. It’s more similar to Germany than even I had expected, and that made me feel at home, despite the language barrier and confusing currency. My favorite things we did there were the very thorough free walking tour, seeing the castle (and the whole city) light up at night, and most of all, learning about my Bohemian heritage. All weekend, I just kept eating everything I could find that my grandma and mom make at home.

Budapest:
     The language barrier I had experienced in Prague was even worse in Hungary. Still, it helps that in these smaller countries, no one expects you to speak the language, and it’s not too difficult to get by. This was definitely the city that felt most foreign to me. It’s the farthest east, it’s not super touristy, but the good side of that is that it’s even cheaper than prague. Despite the challenges, I found the history of this city really fascinating, and found a bunch of fun things to do. Here, we went to the third best bar in the world, and we spent our entire second day in one of the famous bath houses, which I highly recommend.
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Vienna:
     This was my second time in Vienna, so I had mixed feeling about coming back. It is one of my favorite cities in the world because of its imperial elegance and long list of cultural attractions. I did really enjoy coming back because I got to do all different things than the first time. Last time, I really wanted to have Wiener Schnitzel in Wien, but I ran out of time, so I always told myself I’d come back someday just for that. Besides the Schnitzel, my favorite things were the grand tour of the Hapsburg’s Schönbrunn Palace and the view at night from the oldest Ferris wheel.
     These three cities made up the first week of my break. Each has its own distinct character, and I love them all almost equally for different reasons. For the second week of break, we went south to explore some of Italy’s greatest cities, but that’s another story for another post.

 

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